Disgraced former NFL running back Montee Ball, who was dropped by the Patriots after a domestic violence arrest in early 2016, says he is an alcoholic and battled the disease while playing in the league.

Ball, 26, said he began drinking heavily while playing for the University of Wisconsin and that he continued to do so in the NFL after he was drafted by the Broncos in the second round of the 2013 draft.

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"I started to drink a lot more and it started to pour into football," Ball told Sporting News. "If I knew we had a super-easy practice the next day, I'd go out and get drunk with a whole bunch of people. I'd wake up drunk, hit the steam room and go to practice."

In the NFL, he drank heavily four nights a week, drawing suspicions from Broncos running backs coach Eric Studesville.

"He talked about how he could smell the alcohol on me and that he thinks I may have a problem with drinking," Ball told the website. "He said if I needed any help with that he could reach out to people I could talk to.

"I didn't listen to him," he added.

Ball was cut by the Broncos in September of 2015. He gained weight but eventually made his way on to New England's practice squad. He was arrested in February of 2016 on a domestic violence charge and was cut by the Patriots shortly thereafter. He watched the Broncos, his old team, win the Super Bowl from jail.

"It brought tears to my eyes," he said. "At one point, I was on top of the world and now watching the team that cut me a few months prior from a jail cell, that stung a lot."

He was eventually accused of domestic violence by another woman from an incident a few years prior. Though he denies any wrongdoing in the 2014 case, he eventually took a plea deal on both charges that resulted in 60 days jail time.

Ball said he can prove his innocence in the earlier case. So why settle?

"It's a sensitive topic," Ball said. "With the whole Ray Rice situation at the forefront of people's minds, there's no way I could come out of that trial without being convicted of at least one felony. I believe I would have to prove my innocence in court rather than the prosecution having to prove guilt without a reasonable doubt."

"I don't want to live life as a black convicted felon. I never want to throw the race card in there because it's not my motto, but I can't ignore it, either."

As for the case in 2016, he does admit to pushing his then-girlfriend. However, he denies throwing her into a table, as she alleged.

Ball said the birth of his son helped turn him around and confront his alcoholism. He is now back in Wisconsin, trying to finish his degree.